My first ever blog that needs a prerequisite :)
The game in question is Caboo. I’ve made a blog post explaining the rules of the game. You’ll need that.
So here I was in the first week of Caboo fever, in a semester where my friends and I had all chosen probability as the math elective. Naturally, we started thinking about the probability behind the game. Hell, we got so into it that I started a YouTube course on Game theory and an introduction to Poker theory. But the true epiphany hit me when I sat down to code out a program to calculate the expected sum, given the flow of the game.
My go-to method of coding is to start with a multi-line comment listing the assumptions I’ve made and, in this case, the rules of the game. In the rules, I included that when a player swaps out a card, it is likely that the card he swaps is less in value than the card thrown out. But wait, that’s no rule; that’s an assumption. To top that out, a swap isn’t the best move; it’s stacking. Stacking removes a card from your set; it is the best move. And a prerequisite to stacking is knowledge. You need to know your cards. Therefore, the most efficient way to play is to increase your knowledge of the cards in play per turn.
The next game night was an experimentation haven. I started testing my hypothesis, and something beautiful happened; I took in a Queen, the most undesirable card, hoarded and threw it out when, as expected, someone else threw it out.
Lo and Behold, a strategy was born. And how did I do it? By going against the system. Interesting, isn’t it?
Alright, intermission. Part 1: The Card Game is done. Part 2: Philanthropy is up next.
So here I was typing out my Neurolink blog post, describing how capitalism is fundamentally based on human greed. Quick recap: capitalism works on the assumption that people work for their self-interest, resulting in a metaphorical ‘golden hand’ guiding the market toward better consumer satisfaction. Blah Blah big words, blah blah bigger words; the bottom line is capitalism works because people are greedy. But wait, that’s no rule; that’s an assumption.
So philanthropy would be analogous to me hoarding the queens, wouldn’t it? A game rigged to be played with greed. Kindness and charity would be ground-breaking. By the ‘rules’ of capitalism, the rich aim to be richer, which correlates to the poor remaining relatively stagnant. But what if the rich empower the poor with a sustainable business model.
I want to do that. I want to become a billionaire just to give it away by empowering the poor and going against the system. I am an altruist. I believe in kindness, as the evidence suggests :) But in this case, I’m more intrigued with the consequences of going against the system. Like my friends did, would new strategies emerge? Cartels and their monopolies abuse the system, so laws have been put against them. So, would new rules be set in place to regulate my behaviour? But how could they do that to philanthropy?
As I’m typing this, I can’t help but smile.
I wish to wear the sheepskin of a philanthropist while howling to the tunes of an economic anarchist.
Economic Anarchy. What an aspiration, am I right?
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